プロボウリング情報

2006/11/26

　　【PBA】　Discover Card Windy City Classic　【Final】

Young Gun Wins it For Young One

Wes Malott

Wes Malott won one for the "Young Guns" Sunday, as well as a young one close to his heart.

The 30-year-old won his second career Denny's PBA Tour title, defeating top-seed Chris Barnes, 269-239, to win the 2006 Discover Card Windy City Classic at Hawthorn Lanes.

Malott is the first "Young Gun" to win this season in six events. He's one of a group of bowlers on Tour 30-years-old and younger who captured nine titles last season. Malott also dedicated the win to his three-year-old son, Jordan, who was in the hospital earlier in the week. Jordan was healthy enough to be in the crowd Sunday to enjoy his dad's second title.

"Toward the end I kind of got emotional. I just had to keep it under control and bring it home," said Malott (Argyle, Texas). "The last couple weeks I've been having a hard time making the clutch shots when I need them. I have to get over the hump and make those shots and I'll be able to get a few more titles. Parker (Bohn III) and the legends have obviously had a lot of years to gain those titles and it's going to be a lifetime for us to gain those titles too."

Malott was nearly perfect for the second time in his career on TV, striking with his first eight shots before leaving a 10-pin in the 9th frame. Last season, he shot 299 in the semifinals en route to his first career title in the 2005 Mile High Classic. A strike with his first ball in the 10th frame clinched the win over Barnes, the eighth consecutive top-seed to fall in stepladder finals.

The third-seeded Malott advanced to the finals with a 239-177 win over second-seed Mike Scroggins. Malott struck in six of the first eight frames while Scroggins opened three times in that span.

Malott first defeated the fourth seed and PBA Hall of Famer Bohn, 268-246, finishing the match with eight consecutive strikes.

In the first match, Bohn defeated fifth-seed Jack Jurek, 268-225, striking with his first seven shots.

Malott earned $25,000 and an exemption for the 2007-08 season, while Barnes (Flower Mound, Texas) took home $13,000 for second. Scroggins (Amarillo, Texas) earned $6,500 for third, Bohn (Jackson, N.J.) earned $5,500 for fourth and Jurek (Lackawanna, N.Y.) took home $5,000 for fifth.

2006/11/24

　　【PBA】　Discover Card Windy City Classic　【Final】

Barnes Takes Control

Chris Barnes

In the final two rounds that saw multiple lead changes, Chris Barnes came out on top with a 13-5 record and 8,310 32-game total pinfall to secure the top spot in Sunday's live ESPN televised finals in the Discover Card Windy City Classic at Hawthorn Lanes.

"I've been struggling with timing and all kinds of issues. I was pretty disgusted after last night," said Barnes (Flower Mound, Texas). "I stayed around to practice for about an hour. I made a couple of changes and today I was able to throw the ball where I was looking."

Barnes, who defeated Wes Malott, 269-246, in the positioning round, will await one of four potential bowlers in the five-man stepladder finals.

The finals will open up with the fifth and final bowler to qualify for Sunday's finals, Jack Jurek, taking on No. 4 Parker Bohn III (Jackson, N.J.). Jurek (Lackawanna, N.Y.), who was sixth entering the positioning round, defeated Tony Reyes, 245-236, to capture the last spot. Bohn enters the showdown having won three of his final five games.

Awaiting the outcome of the first match will be No. 3 Malott (Argyle, Texas), who entered the positioning round ranked second, but fell in his final two games to Bohn and Barnes, respectively.

Bowling in the semifinal match will be No. 2 Mike Scroggins (Amarillo, Texas). Scroggins was able to position himself in the second spot by winning seven of his nine games Friday night, including two wins over Bohn, one of which came in the positioning round, 257- 217.

　　【PBA】　Discover Card Windy City Classic　【Round of 32】

Jacked Up

Jack Jurek

Jack Jurek was already well on his way to having the best season of his 21-year Denny's PBA Tour career, and it just keeps getting better.

The 43-year-old went 6-3 in round robin match play Friday to take the overall lead heading into the final nine games with a 5,833 23-game pinfall in the 2006 Discover Card Windy City Classic at Hawthorn Lanes. Total pinfall includes 30 bonus pins for each win and 15 for each tie.

Jurek, whose lone Tour title came in the 1995 Tums Classic, has already surpassed his career-high in season earnings through just four events. He came into the week fourth in the PBA World Point Rankings, mostly due to a second-place finish in the USBC Masters, one of four Majors.

"Obviously after the first week, not only getting a big pay day, but also picking up a lot of points, it allowed me to be a lot more relaxed," said Jurek (Lackawanna, N.Y.). "If I just keep my head above water I should be exempt for another year at least."

Jurek was fourth heading into the position round of the Round of 32 after which the field was cut to the top 16. He defeated Chris Barnes (Flower Mound, Texas), 244-225, when Barnes opened in the 10th frame.

"When the scores are this high a lot of luck comes into play," Jurek said. "You have to have a lot of things go your way."

Norm Duke (Clermont, Fla.), who won his 24th career title in last week's 2006 Lake County Indiana Classic, is second with 5,827. Duke will look to win back-to-back titles for the first time in his career.

Earning the final spot for the Round of 16 was Brad Angelo (Lockport, N.Y.), who was 21st heading into the position round. He defeated Amleto Monacelli (Venezuela), 246-227, to finish ahead of Jason Couch (Clermont, Fla.) by four pins.

300 games (2) - Chris Barnes, Amleto Monacelli.

2006/11/23

　　【PBA】　Discover Card Windy City Classic　【Round of 64 - Block 2】

Bohn Gets His Wish

Parker Bohn III

PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III has been around long enough to know when to go after the pins and when to be cautious.

With this week's event featuring a round robin format every pin counts, and pins were knocked down at an unusually high rate Thursday. The 30-time Denny's PBA Tour titlist knocked down the most, averaging 251.86 with a 3,526 seven-game pinfall to take the top spot heading into match play in the 2006 Discover Card Windy City Classic at Hawthorn Lanes.

Bohn (Jackson, N.J.) has made the championship round in two of the last four round robin events on the Denny's PBA Tour. He finished second in the Dick Weber Open last season and third in this season's Motor City Classic. He held off a barrage of strikes from the entire field in Thursday's qualifying round, which saw seven 300 games.

"I normally try to get every pin I can, but in this format I do it with a little more fishing and have a little more tunnel vision and really try to get every pin I can," said Bohn, who took the lead away Danny Wiseman, whom he crossed with, with a 279 in the 13th game. "Everyone was doing a lot of striking but Danny and I happened to be on the same pair. It was his turn early on and fortunately for me it was my turn later."

Wiseman (Baltimore) is second with 3,454 and will be looking to make his first championship round appearance since the 2004-05 season. Last week's Lake County Indiana Classic champion Norm Duke (Clermont, Fla.) is sixth with 3,392.

Making news Thursday was Ryan Shafer (Horseheads, N.Y.), who bowled consecutive 300 games in his 10th and 11th games. It's believed to be the first time a bowler has had back-to-back 300s in a Tour event since 1996 when Duke set a record with three consecutive 300s. Ironically, Shafer nearly missed the cut after a 158 in game 13, but rebounded with a 214 to finish tied for 26th with 3,297.

300 games (7) - Brian LeClair, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Brian Voss, Ryan Shafer (2), Dale Traber, Tommy Delutz. Jr.

　　【PBA】　Discover Card Windy City Classic　【Round of 64 - Block 1】

Wiseman Makes Wise Move

Danny Wiseman

In a place he admits he has always bowled well in, Danny Wiseman leads the first round of qualifying in the Discover Card Windy City Classic at Hawthorn Lanes.

The 11-time Denny's Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour titlist opened up his seven-game block with games of 279 and 276 before jumping past Parker Bohn III (Jackson, N.J.) in the final game with a 258. He finished with a 1,768 seven-game pinfall.

"I tend to bowl well in this center, especially when I won here during the 2002-03 Tour," said Wiseman (Baltimore, Md.). "I tried something different that I haven't done all year. When I see something out there, I used to drill a ball from what I saw. I hadn't been doing that and I did it this week. I actually drilled three balls and two of them worked. I used a MoRich Awesome Revs for the first five games and my last pair hooked a little so I switched to a Storm Spitfire."

Bohn, who led the field going into the seventh game, slipped with a 203 in the block's finale to finish third with a total pinfall of 1,749, 19 pins behind Wiseman.

Wes Malott (Argyle, Texas) ended the first round with a 257, giving him 1,753 and a second-place finish.

Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, who advanced through the Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round, fired a 300 in her sixth game, becoming the first ever woman to throw a perfect game in a standard Tour event, not counting the Tour Qualifying Round.

　　【JPBA】　プロボウリング　レディース新人戦　【決勝トーナメント】

谷川章子

今季2勝を挙げている谷川（7位通過）対37期トップ合格の松永（8位通過、今季よりツアー参戦）の優勝決定戦は、10フレ勝負の接戦となり松永が肝心なところで2.4.5.8の6本カウントで谷川が逆転優勝を飾る。

2006/11/22

　　【JPBA】　プロボウリング　レディース新人戦　【予選】

吉川朋絵

昨年プロ入りの吉川朋絵がトップで決勝トーナメントへ！

2006/11/19

　　【PBA】　Lake County Indiana Classic　【Final】

The Little Texan that Could

Norm Duke

In an epic battle between the Big Fin and the Little Texan, five-foot-six, 128-pound Norm Duke turned out to be the giant on Sunday.

Duke moved into a tie for ninth on the all-time Denny's PBA Tour titles list by defeating six-foot-four Finland native Mika Koivuniemi, 236-233, to capture the 2006 Lake County Indiana Classic at Stardust Bowl I for his 24th career Tour title.

The 42-year-old also became the first bowler to go 14-0 in winning a Denny's PBA Tour title. He went 12-0 in match play Friday, and won two matches Sunday to surpass the previous record held by Chris Hayden (2003) and Randy Pedersen (2002), who both went 10-0 in match play and won two matches in the finals to go 12-0.

"I was 35 pins down when I switched to a ball I hadn't doubled with all week, but I had to make a change," said the Texas native, who changed balls and moved inside in the 5th frame after throwing straight all week. "I made an errant shot in the 10th frame, but the one in the 11th was pure as the driven snow."

Duke came back from a big deficit in the title match, falling behind early with just one strike in the first five frames, while Koivuniemi struck in the first three frames. After the 2003-04 PBA Player of the Year had spares in frames 4-7, Duke responded with six consecutive strikes to force Koivuniemi to double in the 10th. Koivuniemi struck with his first ball in the 10th, but left a 9-pin on his next shot to give Duke the win.

Both Koivuniemi and Duke just missed out on history in their respective semifinal matches as each came close to becoming the first bowler ever to shoot two televised 300 games in their career.

Koivuniemi had the first eight strikes in his match against Steve Rogers, who at 42 years old was making his first career TV appearance after qualifying for the event through Wednesday's Tour Qualifying Round. A spare in the 9th frame after leaving the 3-6-9-10 was all that kept Koivuniemi from perfection, as he closed out the match with three strikes for a 276-194 win.

Duke, meanwhile, struck in 11 of 12 frames in defeating Michael Haugen Jr., 279-233. The 23-time titlist started the match with two strikes before leaving a 10-pin and converting the spare in the 3rd frame. Haugen started with four consecutive strikes, but a 4-7-9 split and an open in the 5th frame was all Duke needed. He closed out the match with nine consecutive strikes to advance to the title match.

Duke (Clermont, Fla.) earned $25,000 and an exemption for the 2007-08 season. Koivuniemi (Hartland, Mich.) took home $13,000 for second, Haugen (Cave Creek, Ariz.) earned $6,500 for third and Rogers (Bourbonnais, Ill.) earned $5,500 for fourth.

　　【JPBA】　群馬オープン　【決勝ラウンドロビン】

近藤文美

ポジションマッチで清水を163-210で破った近藤が（後半5連勝）逆転優勝！ '95の群馬オープンで嬉しい初優勝を挙げ、区切りの通算10勝目もこの群馬オープンで挙げ3年ぶり涙の優勝となった。

2006/11/18

　　【JPBA】　群馬オープン　【準決勝】

近藤文美

準決勝4G目に大会1号のパーフェクトを達成（10年ぶり公認3個目）した近藤文美が75ピン（ポイント）差でラウンドロビンへ！明日はラウンドロビン12Gで最終順位が決まる為このまま勢いに乗って通算10勝目を飾れるか。そして近藤の優勝阻止を初優を狙う姫路・今季4勝を挙げている清水らが追いかける。またアマチュアの関根千帆選手も10位でラウンドロビン進出を果たした。

　　【JPBA】　群馬オープン　【予選】

近藤文美

'95・'03大会優勝の近藤文美が後半926とスコアを伸ばし区切りの10勝目を目指して準決勝へ！
またアマチュアでただ一人準決勝進出を決めた関根千帆選手の今大会ベストアマが決定。

2006/11/17

　　【PBA】　Lake County Indiana Classic　【Round of 8】

Duke's Dozen

Norm Duke

Two words can describe Norm Duke's performance heading into the finals of the Lake County Indiana Classic at Stardust Bowl I: On fire.

After leading Thursday's Round of 64 with a 14-game pinfall of 3,383, Duke (Clermont, Fla.) put on a show in Friday's best-of-seven match play rounds, sweeping No. 32 Michael Fagan (Greenlawn, N.Y.), No. 17 Chris Barnes (Flower Mound, Texas) and No. 24 Riga Kalfas (Florence, Ky.), becoming just the third man in Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) history to finish 12-0 in single-elimination match play. Duke posted a 300 in his third win over Kalfas.

"I've been in a zone before, but I didn't feel like I was in a zone today," said Duke, who joins Randy Pedersen and Chris Hayden as the only bowlers to accomplish the 12-0 feat. "I'm fresh mentally after taking last week off and I feel driven because I haven't been happy with my start."

Duke, who is a part of the ESPN announcing crew for the Denny's PBA Tour when he doesn't make the finals, will step out of the booth to face No. 5 Michael Haugen Jr. in Sunday's first semifinal.

Haugen (Cave Creek, Ariz.) put an end to No. 4 Pete Weber's quest to win back-to-back titles after winning last week's Etonic Championship in Cheektowaga, N.Y. Haugen dropped his first game to Weber (St. Ann, Mo.) before rebounding for four straight wins.

The other half of the bracket will feature No. 2 Mika Koivuniemi (Hartland, Mich.) taking on No. 22 Steve Rogers (Bourbonnais, Ill.).

Koivuniemi advanced after splitting the first two games with Tommy Delutz Jr. (Flushing, N.Y.). He responded with three straight wins, topping the 240 mark in all four games.

Rogers, who advanced through the Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round (TQR), defeated No. 3 Jack Jurek, 4-2. Rogers fell in a 2-1 hole to Jurek (Lackawanna, N.Y.) before posting three consecutive wins, finishing with a 244-222 win in game six. He is the fourth bowler ever to advance from the TQR to the championship round.

Notes
Haugen dedicated his performance to his grandmother, Bettie Wolenchuk, who fell ill this week. Haugen received a phone call from family members this week who broke the news to him. He considered heading home, but his family told him "just make the show this week."

2006/11/16

　　【PBA】　Lake County Indiana Classic　【Round of 64 - Block 2】

Norm Storms to the Top

Norm Duke

Despite a slow start by his standards, 23-time Denny's PBA Tour titlist Norm Duke wants to make it perfectly clear he's not going away.

Duke fired a 247 in his final game Thursday night to finish the Round of 64 as the overall leader with a 3,383 14-game pinfall to earn the top seed for match play in the Lake County Indiana Classic at Stardust Bowl I.

The 42-year-old led the 2005-06 PBA World Point Rankings and made a Tour-high seven championship round appearances last season while capturing his 23rd career title. He had to withdraw from last week's Etonic Championship with a neck injury, however, and is 33rd in the 2006-07 PBA World Point Rankings.

"I have a little motivation this week because my year so far has been sub-standard. It's only a month into the season, but it's not my best," said Duke (Clermont, Fla.). "If you're going to come out and play against the best in the world, you want to be included in the top and my play the first month is definitely a source of motivation. I will certainly improve on my first month's play."

Duke will face No. 32 Michael Fagan (Greenlawn, N.Y.), who defeated Mike Edwards (Tulsa, Okla.) in a one-game roll-off, 201-179, after the two tied for 32nd with 3,096.

Mika Koivuniemi (Hartland, Mich.), who fired two 300 games in the first seven-game block, finished second with 3,381 and will face No. 31 Steve Jaros (Yorkville, Ill.).

Defending champion Pete Weber (St. Ann, Mo.), who is also looking to win back-to-back titles for the first time since 1991 after winning last week's Etonic Championship, finished fourth with 3,327. He will face No. 29 Jeff Lizzi (Sandusky, Ohio), who fired a 278 his final game to jump into the top 32.

Lizzi is one of four bowlers who qualified through Wednesday's Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round to make match play, joining Dino Castillo (Carrollton, Texas) who finished sixth, Troy Wollenbecker (Toledo, Ohio), who finished seventh and Steve Rogers (Bourbonnais, Ill.), who finished 22nd.

　　【PBA】　Lake County Indiana Classic　【Round of 64 - Block 1】

Perfection Times Two

Mika Koivuniemi

After throwing two 300s in his first four games in the Lake County Indiana Classic at Stardust Bowl I, Mika Koivuniemi had a sizeable lead that allowed him to experiment on the Chameleon oil pattern.

Koivuniemi (Hartland, Mich.) finished the first seven-game qualifying round with a total pinfall of 1,708. The Finland native opened the day by sandwiching his first 300 between scores of 246 and 218 before following up with a second perfect game.

"I bowled really well the first game," said Koivuniemi, who threw a Brunswick Ultimate Inferno. "I was able to get a good read of the lanes from the guys who bowled in front of me. I made a couple of changes and got a break in the 11th frame to pick up my first 300. I had a little bit of room with my lead and I was able to move around and test different parts of the lanes."

Koivuniemi became only the third bowler in PBA Tour history to finish with two 300s in a seven-game qualifying block. Koivuniemi joined Jason Couch (Clermont, Fla.) and Michael Haugen Jr. (Cave Creek, Ariz.), who both accomplished the feat last season in the 2005 Greater Omaha Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Dino Castillo (Carrollton, Texas), who qualified for the event through the Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round, is in second with a 1,687, topping the 200 mark in all seven games.

United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Masters runner-up Jack Jurek (Lackawanna, N.Y.) sits in third place, just nine pins behind Castillo with a 1,678.

Kelly Kulick (Union, N.J.), who predicted Wednesday this event would be her breakout stop, is in seventh with 1,654.

2006/11/12

　　【PBA】　Etonic Championship　【Final】

Still the Man

Pete Weber

At 44 years old, PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, he's off to what he calls the best start of his 28-year career.

Weber won his 33rd career Denny's PBA Tour title Sunday, knocking off local favorite Doug Kent, 247-196, to win the 2006 Etonic Championship at AMF Thruway Lanes.

The win moved Weber within one title of tying Mark Roth for third on the all-time titles list and made him just the second bowler in Tour history to go over the $3 million mark in career earnings. Weber finished second in the season-opening Dydo Japan Cup, becoming the victim of Walter Ray Williams Jr.'s record-breaking 42nd career title.

"This is the best start of my career, making the show in two of the first four events and winning today," said Weber (St. Ann, Mo.), who used a Storm Special Agent. "From what I understand Paige (Williams' wife) predicted I would be Player of the Year. I'm trying not to let her down."

Weber struck in six of the first seven frames in the title match, the only blemish a 4-9 split and an open in the second frame. He was never threatened by Kent (Newark, N.Y.), the defending champion, who started the match with five consecutive nine-spares.

"I picked a ball that hit the pocket and just tried to let it off my hand. I didn't try to throw it hard, it was just a stroke off my hand and it worked out for the best," Weber said. "Winning never gets old. It's the best feeling in the world."

Weber advanced to the title match with a 227-179 win over Chris Loschetter (Avon, Ohio). Loschetter had just two strikes in the first nine frames, while Weber struck in four of the first five frames. A 4-7-9 split and an open frame in the eighth by Loschetter all but clinched the match for Weber.

Kent advanced with a 203-188 win over Steve Jaros (Yorkville, Ill.). Kent stayed clean with no opens until his final frame while Jaros had opens in the 5th, 8th and 9th frames.

Weber earned $25,000 and an exemption for the 2007-08 season. Kent, who was looking for his second title in three events after winning the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Masters, took home $13,000 for second. Jaros earned $6,500 for third and Loschetter earned $5,500 for fourth.

　　【JPBA】　栃木オープン　【ＴＶ決勝】

西村　了

優勝決定戦

×石原章夫227-228○西村了

現在ランキング1位の石原対900男西村との優勝戦は、手に汗握る好勝負となり8フレ終了して石原が207西村が208、9フレともにスペアで西村が僅か1ピンリード。10フレ先投げの西村はパンチアウトで石原の息の根を止めたいところ。1投目ストライクで2投目惜しくも10ピンタップこれをカバーで先に228で終了。石原はダブルで逆転勝ちになるところ、まず1投目さすが石原、見事ストライク。そして勝負の2投目、西村同様10ピンが残り勝負あり。僅か1ピン差を守りきり'03の「全日本選手権」で奇跡の3連続パーフェクトを達成した西村が嬉しい初優勝を挙げた。

3位決定戦

×天野景之190-247○西村了

西村が4位決定性の勢いでストライクを連発、抜群の集中力でビッグゲームを続け優勝戦へ進出。

4位決定戦

×市原竜太190-269○西村了

西村はガタースタートも5フレからオールウェーし波に乗れない市原を引き離して圧勝。

　　【JPBA】　栃木オープン　【ラウンドロビン】

石原章夫

ポジションマッチ1位の石原対2位天野の対戦は、石原が221-200で天野を破り栃木オープン初優勝を目指しトップシードでステップラダーへ進出。2位に終盤失速の天野､3位に250で満身創痍の坂田（188）に勝った市原、そして4位進出は儀間に逆転勝ちし坂田をまくって進出を決めた西村が滑り込んだ。

2006/11/11

　　【JPBA】　栃木オープン　【準決勝】

天野景之

夜遅くまでギャラリーの皆様の声援を頂き、トップでラウンドロビンに進出したのは、唯一レフティーで進出の天野景之（29期）。現在ランキング62位の為、シード権獲得48位以内と6年ぶりの優勝を目指して明日のランドロビンへ。

　　【JPBA】　栃木オープン　【予選】

花本正登

大ベテラン花本正登（12期）が予選トップで準決勝へ！半地元であり（所属センターがお隣茨城）10年ぶり2勝目の優勝に向けてどこまで伸ばすか。

2006/11/10

　　【PBA】　Etonic Championship　【Round of 8】

Superman Doug Kent

Doug Kent

AMF Thruway Lanes is becoming a very comfortable place for eight-time Denny's PBA Tour titlist Doug Kent. One season after winning the 2006 GEICO Classic in the Cheektowaga, N.Y., bowling center, Kent is in the Sunday finals of the 2006 Etonic Championship.

The Newark, N.Y., native advanced to the finals by defeating fellow New Yorker Brad Angelo (Lockport, N.Y.), four-games-to-none, in Friday's Round of 8, finishing the sweep with a 202-170 win.

"I'm just going through the motions. I just have a feeling that's just unbelievable and that I haven't had in a long time," said Kent, who won the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Masters two weeks ago. "Confidence can go a long way. Repeating shots is a lot of it and ball reaction is a lot of it."

Getting to the title match will be no easy task, as Kent faces seven-time titlist Steve Jaros. Jaros (Yorkville, Ill.) needed six games to advance, defeating Michael Fagan (Greenlawn, N.Y.), 4-2.

The other side of Sunday's bracket features "Legend" Pete Weber taking on "Young Gun" Chris Loschetter, who is looking for his first career title.

Weber disposed of Cheektowaga native Liz Johnson, 4-1. After falling behind 2-0, Johnson, who became the first ever female to make a Denny's PBA Tour final in the 2005 Banquet Open, won the third game, 257-192. Weber then took control in the final two games, including a 212-180 win in the fifth game.

Loschetter (Avon, Ohio), who qualified for match play 17th, knocked off Mike Edwards (Tulsa, Okla.), 4-2, after taking care of No. 1 seed Mike DeVaney in the Round of 16 in seven games.